Of the 5000 extant languages and dialects in the world, 845 are Indian. Twenty-two officially recognized languages make Indian literature an unwieldy segment to document. The main language spoken in India is Hindi in the north and central India and Dravidian languages in south India. Urdu is spoken in the U.P. and Hyderabad regions. In the east end of the Ganges Bengali is spoken. Gujrati and Marathi are also spoken in Gujrat and Maharashtra respectively. English is widely spoken in towns and cities.

By about 500 BC Indian texts illustrated the calculation of the calendar, although the system itself almost certainly goes back to the eighth or ninth century BC. The year was divided into 27 nakshatras (stars), or fortnights, years being calculated on a mixture of lunar and solar counting.

The only copy of Kautiliya's treatise on government dates from about 100 BC. It describes the weapons technology of catapults, incendiary missiles and the use of elephants, but it is also evident that gunpowder was unknown.

Conceptions of the universe and the mathematical and geometrical ideas that accompanied them were comparatively advanced in South Asia by the time of the Mauryan Empire and were put to use in the rules developed for building temple altars. Indians were using the concept of zero and decimal points in the Gupta period.

Everything traditional in the realm of performing arts goes back to Bharata's Natya Shastra. Dance, music, theatre are enduring part of the Indian cultural milieu.

Music
Indian music can trace its origins to the metrical hymns and chants of the Vedas, in which the production of sound according to strict rules was understood to be vital to the continuing order of the Universe. Hindustani music probably originated in the Delhi Sultanate during the 13th century, when the most widely known of North Indian musical instruments, the sitar, was believed to have been invented.

Carnatic (Karnatik) music
Contemporary South Indian music is traced back to Tyagaraja (1759-1847), Svami Shastri (1763-1827) and Dikshitar (1775-1835), three musicians who lived and worked in Thanjavur. They are still referred to as 'the Trinity'. Their music placed more emphasis on extended compositions than Hindustani music.

Music Festivals
Many cities hold annual festivals, particularly during winter months. Some important ones are January: Sangeet Natak Akademi's Festival, New Delhi; Tyagaraja Festival, Tiruvayyaru, near Thanjavur. February: ITC Sangeet Sammelan, New Delhi. March: Shankar Lal Festival, New Delhi. August: Vishnu Digambar Festival, New Delhi. September. Bhatkhande Festival, Lucknow. October: Shanmukhanada, Mumbai. November: Sur-Singar Festival, Mumbai. December: Tansen Festival, Gwalior; Music Academy and Music and Dance Festival, Chennai.

Dance
The rules for classical dance were laid down in the Natya Shastra in the second century BC, which is still one of the bases for modern dance forms. The most common sources for Indian dance are the epics, but there are three essential aspects of the dance itself, Nrithya (pure dance), Nrithya (emotional expression) and Natya (drama).
India is also rich in folk dance traditions, which are widely performed during festivals.